Oakland Athletics starter Mason Miller and Seattle Mariners starter Bryce Miller put forth a special effort Tuesday night in Oakland in a game that would end up a 2-1 Mariners victory.
The pitchers, both rookies with Bryce making his MLB debut, didn't allow a hit until the sixth inning. Mason Miller of the A's had a no-hitter through seven innings, but was pulled after 100 pitches in favor of reliever Richard Lovelady. Lovelady would record an out before giving up a game-tying home run to A.J. Pollock.
Later in the inning, Mariners breakout star Jarred Kelenic doubled home the go-ahead run and the Mariners wouldn't look back. Let's focus on the dueling rookies with the same last name, though, as they were the story in this one.
Bryce, the Mariners' Miller here, was perfect through five innings. He struck out the first hitter he faced in the sixth before Tony Kemp singled. He would end up giving up one run, but it was a hell of a debut.
Miller was just the third player since 1900 to debut with at least 10 strikeouts against zero walks, joining Stephen Strasburg (14 K on June 8, 2010) and Johnny Cueto (10 K on April 3, 2008). He came away with the no decision, as he left the game with the Mariners trailing 1-0, but gave his team the opportunity to come back by limiting his opponent so effectively.
Mason, the A's top pitching prospect who was making his third career start Tuesday evening, had a bit more trouble with finding the strike zone than his counterpart. Still, we can bust out the old phrase "effectively wild," because the Mariners just couldn't square him up. Miller walked four and struck out six while not giving up a hit in his seven innings of work. Given that he's such a young and electric arm, the A's elected to pull him after seven no-hit innings and 100 pitches.
Miller's first MLB start came on April 19 and he threw 81 pitches. Last time out, April 25, he threw 86. In his two minor-league starts, he threw 56 and then 65 pitches, respectively. He didn't top 43 pitches in a game last season. He's 24 years old and a future star, so it makes sense that the club didn't want to extend him any further once he completed the seventh inning. Throwing seven no-hit innings against a 2022 playoff team is a nice feather in his cap anyway.
The last A's no-hitter was courtesy of Mike Fiers, who pulled it off May 7, 2019. They came within five outs of a combined effort here, but it wasn't to be.
More than anything, though, the rookie duel between Mason Miller and Bryce Miller was the main course in this one and it was delightful.
